Track-sanding device.



E. L. LARSON. TRACK SANDING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 29, 1909.

939,718. Patented N0v9,1909.

' QX i/b'neooaa E. L. LARSON. TRAGK SANDING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILEDAPR. 29, 1909.

939,71 8. Patented Nov. 9, 1909. 2 SHEETS-SIIEET 2.

' B ,6: 9 4" A? Iv 2\\ I" I q 4 wiiwaooao UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN L. LARSON, OF DE KALB, ILLINOIS.

TRACK-SANDING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 29, 1909.

Patented Nov. 9, 1909.

Serial No. 492319. f

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWlN L. Larson, a citizen of the United States,residing at De Kalb, in the county of Dekalb and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Track-Sanding Device, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to a device for sanding tracks to preventslipping of the wheels of vehicles traveling on such tracks, and theinvention has for one of its objects to improve and simplify theconstruction and operation of devices of this character so as to bereliable and efficient in use, readily manipulated, and adapted as anattachment for cars already in use.

\Vith this and other objects in view, the invention comprises thevarious novel features of construction and arrangement of parts whichwill be more fully described hereinafter and set forth withparticularity in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of theinvention, Figure 1 is a sectional view of a portion of a car showingthe invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the track sanding device. Fig. 3 is an enlargedplan view of the sand-feeding mechanism and hopper. Fig. 4 is a verticallongitudinal sectional view on line 4t, Fig. 3. F 5 is a verticalsectional view on line 55, Fig. 2.

Similar reference characters are employed to designate correspondingparts throughout the views.

In the accompanying drawing, 1 designates the floor of a street car orother vehicle. At one end thereof is the usual platform 2 for themotorman, the car body being mounted on ordinary trucks having trackwheels 3.

The sanding device consists of a boxlike hopper 4 arranged in anysuitable part of the car, as for instance, under one of the seats andsupported on a base frame 5, the bottom of the hopper being inclinedfrom the sides downwardly toward the center to form a trough-likestructure. In the bottom of the hopper and extending longitudinallythereof is a feed screw 6 mounted at its ends in bearings 7 and 8. Thisfeed screw extends out of the bearing 8 and is equipped with a sprocket9 over which passes a sprocket chain 10 meshing with a sprocket wheel 11on a floating rotary shaft 12. As shown in Fig. 2, the shaft 12 ismounted in bearings 13 on a horizontally-disposed frame 14 which has oneend attached by hinges 15 to a depending bracket 16 on the floor of thecar, while the opposite end is suspended by a spring 17. On the oppositeend of the shaft from the sprocket wheel 11 is a small wheel 18 that isadapted to be thrown into contact or fric tional engagement with one ofthe car wheels 3, so that the shaft can be driven thereby. Normally, thepulley 18 is held out of engagement with the wheel 3 by the spring 17,and is moved into engagement with the wheel by any suitable means underthe control of the motorman. For this purpose, the frame 14 is providedwith a forwardly-extending arm 19 having an upturned extremity passingthrough the platform floor to form a push-button 20 which the motormancan engage by his foot to depress the swinging frame and thus transmitpower from one of the car wheels to the feed screw. Leading from thefeed screw is a sand-conducting conduit 21 having its lower endterminating in front of the car wheel 3 and directly over the track todeposit sand thereon. In some instances, the sand-conducting pipe isformed with two branches leading to both rails. At the receiving end ofthe sand-conducting pipe 21 and disposed within the hopper, is a hood 22in the form of a cylindrical casing surrounding the screw 16 andextending a suitable distance into the hopper. This hood serves toprevent the sand from being jolted out of the hopper through the portthrough which the screw passes, thus rendering it impossible for sand topass out except when the screw is operated.

In practice, the hopper is filled with sand which fills in around thescrew, since the latter is located in the trough of the bottom thereof.hen it is desired to sand the track, the motorman depresses the pushbutton to thereby throw the pulley 18 into engagement with the carwheel. The shaft 12 is thus rotated and transmits power to the feedscrew through the sprocket and chain mechanism. As soon as suflicientsand has been delivered, the motorman releases his foot so that thedevice can be automatically thrown out of operation.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and of themethod of operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the artto which the invention appertains. and while I have described theprinciple of operation of the invention,

together with the device which I now consider to be the bestembodimentthereof, I desire to have it understood that the device shown is merelyillustrative, and that such changes may be made when desired as arewithin the scope of the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a track sanding device, the combination of a car, a hopper carriedthereby, a feed screw in the hopper, a floating shaft disposed exteriorto the hopper, means for mounting the shaft on the car, a sprocket andchain device between the screw and shaft, a pulley on the shaft, meansfor moving the pulley into engagement with the wheel of the car, meansfor normally holding the pulley out of engagement with the wheel, and asand-conducting conduit leading from the screw to the track.

2. In a track sanding device, the combination of a car body, a hoppermounted thereon, a feed screw in the hopper, a swinging frame mounted onthe car body to move in a vertical plane, a shaft mounted 011 the frame,a driving connection between the shaft and screw, a pulley on the shaftarranged to engage one of the car wheels, a spring connected with theframe and car body to normally hold the pulley away from the car wheel,means for moving the frame against the tension of the spring to engagethe pulley with the wheel, and a sand-conducting conduit leading fromthe screw to the track.

3. In a track sanding device, the combination of a car body, a hoppermounted thereon, a rotary feed element disposed in the hopper, a conduitarranged to receive sand from the element and deliver it to the trackrail, a frame mounted under the floor of the car body to swing on ahorizontal axis, a contractile spring secured to the car body and to theframe for holding the free end of the latter raised, a pulley mounted onand movable with the frame to engage with a wheel of the car, a sprocketand chain connection between the pulley and sandfeeding element forrotating the latter and permitting the frame to be raised or lowered,and an operating device rigidly connected with and carried by the frontend of the frame for moving the pulley into engagement with the carwheel against the tension of the said spring.

4. In a track sanding device, the combination of a car, asand-containing hopper thereon, a feed-screw mounted in the hopper, ashaft disposed parallel with the screw, a sprocket and chain devicebetween the shaft and screw, a swinging frame, a bracket on the car, ahinged connection between the frame and bracket, hearings on the framefor said shaft, a pulley on the shaft for engaging the periphery of oneof the car wheels, a spring connected with the car and frame for holdingthe latter raised with the pulley out of engagement with the said wheel,an arm connected with the frame, means connected with the arm fordepressing the frame against the tension of the said spring tooperatively connect the pulley with the said wheel, and asand-conducting conduit between the screw and track to be sanded.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have heretoaflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

EDWIN L. LARSON. lVitnesses EDWARD JoHNsoN, ESTHER L. JoHNsoN.

